


Reflecting starlight

by griffonskies



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Not Beta Read, Shance Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 17:54:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17166578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/griffonskies/pseuds/griffonskies
Summary: "What's a soulmate?"“Well, we are still figuring it out, but generally it’s said that soulmates start of as one whole, but then get split into two, sometimes more pieces. It’s quite the messy affair and bits of your soulmate stay with you. Those then manifest in some kind of form. Like my lovely Cielito!”





	Reflecting starlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theadamantdaughter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theadamantdaughter/gifts).



> So, this is for the Shance Secret Santa exchange 2018 for The AdamantDaughter on Tumblr. If I'm not mistaken they use the same name here on AO3.
> 
> So, hi! Hope you like it.  
> I can safely say it got very out of control and very weird at some points.  
> But I'm quite happy in the end. 
> 
> It's sadly not beta read, so all the mistakes are 100% mine, and there's bound to be quite a few since I'm not that good at English.
> 
> Since I don't know any Spanish I used the power of Google to help me find Spanish (and with it the closest I can get to Cuban endearments )
> 
> "Mi cielito" apparently means "my little sky" or "my heaven", which seamed beyond appropriate to me for the little bird trailing Lance around.
> 
> "Umi" was taken from Japanese and is supposed to mean "sea"

 

It was a vast and wondrous universe outside the castle walls. With countless lifeforms and their countless oddities. Coran has seen this over many deca-phoebs of travel, and his live has been quite nomadic by Altean standards. Especially in his younger, quite rebellious, deca-phoebs.

 

But these humans were turning out to be something else entirely.

 

The last two Alteans thought it to be some kind of alchemy.

 

The way Pidges hands would sometimes glow a bright orange and whatever she was working on would float and assemble itself. The way Lance was always followed by a little fully-grey bird sprite, that would fly into his chest to hide; same with Hunk and his yellow turtle. How Keith could jump farther trailing fire red and gold dust and how Shiro could call a deep blue orb of energy into his palm, lighting up any room.

 

Turns out not to be so.

 

“What did you call it again?” Allura asked, looking up from her breakfast goo.

 

“A soulmate.” Pidge said “Do you not have a word for those?”

 

“Hmm.” Coran crossed his arms, one hand going up to twist his mustache, the other dripping goo from his spoon, “Not that I’m aware of. What is it exactly?”

 

Hunk blinked “The other part of your soul? Wha-buh”.  

 

Lance sprawled on Hunks back, almost making him hit his head on the kitchen counter.

 

“Well, you see, we are still figuring it out, but generally it’s said that soulmates start of as one whole, but then get split into two, sometimes more pieces, each of which then make a pearson. It’s quite the messy affair and bits of your soulmate stay with you. Those then manifest in some kind of form.”

 

Here Lance threw his arms out as if to encompass the grandioseness that was the little, ghostly transparent, bird that flew down in front of him on the counter.

“Like my lovely Cielito here!”

 

The bird hop-turned and chirped back at him. And Lance just melted, embracing the bird gently with his palms and bringing it up to nuzzle at it. “You are the sweetest thing around, mi cielito, mi vida,...” and he trailed off into a litany of endearments.

 

“Aha!” exclaimed Coran, “Like a Fated Pair!”

 

The Paladins blinked at him in unison, but Allura looked up in understanding, bringing her hands together, “That does sound like it.”

 

“Fated Pair?” asked Shiro as he sat down, the mice pushed a bowl of goo towards him, “Thanks.”

 

“Sometimes a pair of Alteans would fit seamlessly together and be in love at pretty much the first sight, feeling drawn together from across time and space. Those were the Fated Pair and they were thought to be the purest form of love there is. Why, Alluras great-great-great grandfather and grandmother were a Fated Pair!”

 

Shiro just looked confused while the rest of them shifted uncomfortably “That’s kinda like a soulmate, but... not, really….” said Keith. Shiro continued, having caught on to the conversation, “Soulmates aren't always a love interest. You do feel a pull towards them, that’s generally how you find them. But it’s not always strangers; sometimes it’s family members,” here he looked to Pidge - “That would be my brother.” - and then to Keith - “My dad.”.

 

”Sometimes it’s just friends,” Hunk raised his hand here and sheepishly said “My Lily is back on Earth and very much in a committed relationship with her wife. And I have Shay now… well, kinda, it’s still distance and we’re figuring it out….”

 

“The kind of relationship they have is up to the soulmates, but it’s generally believed that they make you a better person, pulling you in directions you wouldn’t expect and broadening your horizons.”

 

“And you two?” Allura asked, pointing at Lance and Shiro.

 

Both of them smiled, glancing at one another, then back to Allura  “We’re each other's soulmate funnily enough.”

 

“Oh.” said Allura and Coran, not really comprehending.

 

“We pretty much found out as Shiro was leaving for the Kerberos mission, so we’re still seeing where it’s leading us.” said Lance, followed by a snort from the other three former cadets. Allura though she saw a blush on Lance's face for a split second but then he was out of his seat waving his spoon and picking a fight with Keith.

 

* * *

 

Lance woke up unprompted in the middle of the night, with a distinct feeling that he needed to be elsewhere or had forgotten something.

 

The day had been uneventful and his sleep without nightmares - lucky - so he looked around, baffled, and found nothing. His Cielito was sleeping on the pillow right next to his left ear, as always.

 

His Cielito had formed within hours of Lance being born. His mother would often reminisce about how the little bird had flown from his heart while his mother was holding him, not even an hour old, how it had landed on his forehead and chirped at him as if to say ‘hello’. How Lance would sometimes cry or not want to sleep, and only the little sprites singing could calm him down.

 

Lance would nod along and also remember, but not mention, how the little bird would bring him his pens when he was studiing, lost coins to buy candy and empty seashells while at the beach. How the bird would sing him awake in the mornings and then peck at his ears or nose when he wouldn’t get up. How it would chirp defiantly in the face of anyone picking a fight with Lance, be it a school bully or his instructors at the Garrison. Even Iverson, who had flinched back at the loud warning chirp, taken by surprise, spent a full minute in a staring contest with the little bird, then snorted and moved on.

 

Lance also remembered the long nights when insecurities and doubts would not let him sleep and he would just talk and talk, his Cielito listening, chirping, nuzzling and pecking at his fingers in affection.

 

Sometimes they would stay up to just look at the starlit sky, moonlight shimmering silver as it passed through the little bird, the stars catching and blinking in the little dark eyes. And Lance would wonder weather his soulmate would look at the sky the same way, for if just this soulshard of them shined like starlight the rest of them was probably made of galaxies and nebulae.

 

And sometimes he would wonder if he could ever live up to that bright of a soul.

 

Then, one morning he walked into class that was to be taught by his idol, one Takashi Shirogane. He’d been sporting a grin for a larger part of a month looking forward to the class.  But he froze in the doorway, and ran in the opposite direction. For he knew now that his soulmate was far beyond his reach.

 

He changed classes and what followed was a careful dance of soulmate avoiding, until Hunk got fed up with it and let Shiro into their bunk. They exchanged no words, Shiro just hugged and held him close as Lance cried and then hung on for dear life. It was okay, they would figure it out with time.

 

But then Kerberos happened and Cielito would hide in his chest more and more. None of the higher ups would listen that “Cielito is still here! So Shiro is still alive!”. Keith got expelled, Pidge joined their team, and months later Shiro crash landed in the desert.

 

So now here they were, deep in an intergalactic war and Lance awake in the middle of the night. His Cielito blinked it’s eyes open; they reflected starlight in a windowless room.

 

Lance got up and found Shiro in the observatory, lights off, shoulders stiff and staring at the star speckled outer space. Blue lights flickered around him trying to get his attention and a ghostly apparition wound around his arm, but Lance could not make out the form.

 

Lance took a loud step forward and Shiro turned to him, eyes tired and unfocused, but still saw him. “Lance… hey.”.

The younger paladin just took him by the arm and gently guided him to the sofa, then sat with him and held on. “You know, those automatic hall light are just too bright at this time. Just the other night I got blinded on my way to the kitchen...” he trailed off into a retelling of his nightly escapades around the castle, then the Garrison and then a few childhood stories just for good measure.

 

Finally, Shiro squeezed at his arm, “Thank you.” and they lapsed into silence, looking at the sky.

 

Then Shiro continued, “I’m sorry for this, you shouldn’t have to deal-” and Lance cut him off.

 

“It’s not your fault. And you’re _never_ a burden.” Lance looked at him, imploring him to listen, and shook the hand he was holding a little, for emphasis. Shiro looked unconvinced but leaned forward to kiss at Lance's temple in gratitude.

 

“It’s okay. You’ll see. We have time.” Lance said, repeating what Shiro told him that first time. Shiro gave a wry laugh but said nothing.

 

Months later he would remember those words as they ran towards the crumbled Black Lion. His Cielito was not there. He reached and reached but _his Cielito was not there_. The others noticed, the others asked, but he couldn’t force the words out.

 

But his Cielito was not there.

 

And neither was Shiro.

 

* * *

 

1 year later

 

 

 

His Cielito flapped his grey-purple wings wide and screeched in the face of an attacking Galra. Lance ducked and hid and shot at sentry after sentry blocking his way to the shuttle.

 

50…

 

49...

 

And the time just kept counting and counting down.

 

“Lance! Get the quiznak out of there already!” Keith yelled into his com, hands shaking.

 

They were gathered on the ground of a random planetoid. Lions out of energy, the Castle destroyed not even a week ago, and surrounded by Galra ships.

 

They had been captured, and in an attempt to keep them powerless, separated on different ships. By sheer red stubbornness and luck they got out. By sheer green and yellow technical brilliance they overrode the controls and set a self destruct sequence.

 

Another ship exploded in orbit and took with it a few of the smaller flyers.

 

“Lance!” Hunk exclaimed in worry, hands going to his head and pulling at his bandana. The others were gathered around Keith listening as he yelled empty instructions into the coms. Horror struck at wat was happening, but unable to help. They were all too far away. Too far to help. And far too late to change plans.

 

25…

 

Shiro took one of the others discarded helmets and one handedly, shakily, put it on his head and activated the com.

 

20…

 

“Lance. Stay in one place and activate your helmet, okay?”

 

“Shiro?”

 

Everyone turned to look at him in confusion. But also thinly veiled hope, hope that he could somehow pull a magic trick, bend the universe in its place, and make this all okay.  

 

He did not expect it, but it suthed some deep, deep part of him that; after everything, after disappearing and reappearing, after bad judgements and clones and hurting them; they would still look at him and trust him to fix it.

 

“Keith, can I borrow your bayard?”

 

“...What?”

 

15...

 

But Shiro didn’t wait for an answer and just rapped a knuckle on Keith’s holster, the black bayard appearing in his hand. He brought it up to look at it for a moment, and for the second time felt it pulse with power in his grip.

 

“Come and find us on the other side of the ship somewhere, when you can.” he instructed, than activated the bayard.

 

It sprang to life with violet light, morphing and encompassing Shiro in bolts of energy. He looked up to the ship Lance was on, took a leap as if he could jump to it.

 

A flash, a silent boom, his form distorted upwords, dust rose and a indent formed in the ground he was standing on, making Keith, Krolia and Coran stumble as the ground sunk beneath their feet.

 

He was gone.

 

The ship exploded.

 

And the coms made the sound of a helmet out of reach. But not destroyed.

 

* * *

 

One moment Lance was hiding behind a metal column, laser shots flying past him, next he was pushed to his right, past the halls, past the walls and into open space, past the ships and flyers and the two moons of the planetoid, sight and light and sound bending and fading until it was just stars leaving light trails as far as he could see.

 

Then there was yellow and a feeling of a bubble crashing against a wall. Yellow and orange dust rose and obscured his vision. A buzz filled his ears so loud he couldn't even hear his heavy breathing. It took him a full minute to remember he had limbs to move with.

 

He turned in the crater and the heavy hand around his waist fell away. The dust cleared enough for him to see Shiro’s crumbled form besides him in the crater they made. Violet energy was crackling against Shiro’s back and up his wings, black metal for bones, red for joints and blue, blue energy for feathers. One was standing upright, the other seemed bent, almost broken.

 

Lance had a moment to think how they reminded him of Black’s wings that one time Shiro activated them, over a year ago; but then they disappeared, dissolving and reforming into the black bayard, which landed upright in the sand beneath them. For a moment longer Lance just stared at the bayard, then jolted into action, fear seizing at his heart.

 

“Shiro!”

 

He turned Shiro on his back, taping at the yellow helmet visor to check his vitals, and before the screen even blinked to life he reached for Shiro’s neck, searching for a pulse.

 

There was a pulse, slow, so slow, but steady. Shiro’s breath clouded the visor ever so slightly, labored breathing, but breathing.

 

The helmet finally blinked and biped to life with its findings. Low but steady vitals, quintessence exhaustion bordering on dangerous. Lance spared them no more than a passing glance, seeing right through them to the face benneth. His jaw worked as if trying to say something, but he couldn’t push anything pass the knot in his throat. His hands formed to fists on Shiro’s breast plate, his vision blurred and he bent forward over the others form.

 

He screamed without restraint, yelling all the pain, frustration and anger at the wind, for no one would hear. The only one there was unconscious and hurt.

 

And Lance could do nothing about it. Nothing. Again.

 

Again and again he keeps failing his soulmate. By some miracle, by some otherworldly, beyond comprehension, magical miracle Shiro was still here and alive after everything. And Lance had no part to play in it.

 

He remembered them sitting at the kitchen table, depressed and forloren. Shiro was still lost, his Cielito was still gone, gone, gone. Blue had closed herself from him and Red was moody even on a good day. Somehow they were moving forward, somehow they managed to still form Voltron, for the universe waited for no one.

 

The chirp sounded like a gong in the quiet room, spoons cluttered and bowls shattered but Lance only had eyes for his Cielito standing in front of him. Wings larger than he remembered, feather tips shining violet instead of the solid silver he remembered, and far more transparent than ever. But still there. “Mi Cielito... ”, tears fell down his cheeks and  palms trembled on both sides of the little bird, too afraid to embrace the broken looking form. His Cielito chirped at him quietly its eyes dark in pain and imploring him to help, please help.

 

Keith and Black found Shiro not a day later.

 

He noticed the difference in his Cielito, the difference in Shiro, and logicked it away. Shiro reached out to him in the astral plane, form shining in stardust, one with the backdrop; he didn’t follow it up. Shiro opened up in the hallway, practically begging for help and Lance could only give platitudes. The Witch took control away from Shiro, from his mind and body, and Lance could only stand by and witness it happen.

 

Keith brought Shiro back with him. Said he was a clone, said their first Shiro died over a year ago. Said this Shiro was dying too; the little piece of his soul, his quintessence, that Haggar scavenged, morphed and shoved into this body to make the clone live, was not enough without her influence to sustain it.

 

Lance could only fall down on his knees and cry. His soulmate dying, again; his Cielito slowly fading in his chest, again. And nothing he could do.

 

And Allura, quietly saving his world with Altean alchemy.

 

Lance’s helmet clinked softly as he brought his forehead to Shiro’s chest, sobbing.

 

Not for the first time Lance thought that whichever powers made soulmates should have made Shiro a better one, one more capable and less likely to let him down. One that wasn’t him.

 

His Cielito chirped at him and he could feel a ball of warm fluff against his neck.

 

He cried harder, for as much as he thought himself unworthy, as much as he failed and failed again, his Cielito still sang to him, and his soulmate would fling himself across a galaxy and use up his already low energy reserves just to save him.

 

Once, a lifetime ago, he wondered if his Cielito reflected the starlight to be found in his soulmate. Now, after everything, he knew Shiro could outshine entire galaxies and his love could reach and cocoon that and more.

 

This was not the time nor the place, but Lance couldn't help but love love love the soul pulsing underneath his fingertips. Coran had once spoken of Fated Pairs, and Lance couldn't help but want that, couldn't help but feel that.

 

So he cried, and thanked the universe at large that he was still able to keep this.

 

* * *

 

Shiro opened his eyes and he felt his heart stop when he saw the endless void of the astral plane. Did he die again? Was it over so soon? He looked at his hands, both transparent grey. At least Lance was safe. Right?

 

He saw movement and color from the corner of his eyes and looked up to his right. His own eyes gazed back at him.

 

But no, not the same eyes. This gaze was vibrant violet instead of his grey. And both sets of eyes widened when realization struck.

 

And then the memories came unbidden and were followed by even more unbidden thoughts. Of violet reaching out to blue and being welcomed, while he himself had to struggle for his soulmate to even look at him at first. The wide, wide distance between him and his soulmate becoming less and less in the hands of a clone of him. Was he so unreachable and distant that Lance would rather have a watered down version of him, than having to bother with the original? He looked down to his dull, so dull grey hands again and though he could see why; why such a vibrant and deep soul like Lance could be more drawn to a soul of vibrant violet that his colorless grey.

 

He sighed, the storm passed, and looking past the gray, past the hurt he looked to his clone again. And the thoughts didn’t feel quite right, nore quite true anymore.

 

None of them had asked for this. Not he, not Lance, not his clone.

 

The fight with Zarkon had scattered his soul across the battlefield like dust. Black had worriedly, lovingly gathered most of it until her energy couldn’t reach anymore. Haggar had scavenged on the rest, stole it, morphed it, molded it, showed it in a cloned empty body, then finding it lacking in quintessence added her alchemy to help it along.

 

One part of Shiro reformed in the quintessence of Voltron. The other part of Shiro was forcefully reformed and deformed with alchemy and witchcraft.

 

Did that make them two parts of the same soul? Or were they different enough to be seperate pieces?

 

His double looked back at him, having no more answer to that than he did.

 

If they’ve both lived through this, would that have made them a soulmate triad with Lance in the middle? Or still two parts of a soulmate couple? Would they become a triad with time anyway, as Shiro’s and his clones paths led them further apart?

 

They both chuckled soundlessly at that.

 

It didn’t really matter now, for they were together in one body, and seemingly similar enough to stay merged for most of the time. Sometimes grey Shiro would get lost looking into the endless vastness of the night sky, forgetting that he was not in the astral plane anymore. Sometimes the other, violet Shiro would look upon the rest of the Paladins and want to kneel at their feet, begging for forgiveness.

 

But no, Shiro had called the clone evil. The others had looked at him, twitchy and scared, expecting Shiro and expecting the mind controled clone at the same time. He hurt them, pretty much destroyed their home and still they brought him back. They’ve done enough, they’ve suffered enough. They didn’t need to worry about weather or not this was the “real” Shiro. Weather or not he would turn on them like the other had.

 

Maybe one day, they all could open that particular can of worms and work it out. But that was a battle for another time and place. Now they needed to stay focused, he’ll be patient till then.

 

They both snorted at that. ‘Patience yields focus, right?’

 

They shifted together without moving, merging into one as the astral plane faded away.

 

And hey, maybe together that could bridge the gap between them and Lance.

 

* * *

 

Shiro opened his eyes to a dark yellow cave ceiling, Lance to the left of him, helmet at his feet, arms wrapped around his knees and staring at the entrance of the cave. His Cielito on his shoulder staring at the same distance.

 

It took him two tries, but in the end he managed a whisper, “Lance?”

 

Lance jerked towards him, eyes wide, and a second later was right besides him, “Shiro!”

 

They both forced a smile for the other, “I have an idea. How about you never, ever do that again.”

 

“Sounds good.” Shiro’s throat was dry and his voice sounded like gravel. He caught from the strain of it. Tried to lift himself and remembered too late that he was missing an arm.

 

A warm hand pushed at his back and helped him up, and Lance brought a water packet up to his lips.

 

It took some maneuvering and coxing. But minutes later Shiro was asleep again in Lance’s lap. Getting some more rest before they moved from the desert part of the planetoid to the forested area Lance could find with his scanners. It meant better cover, possible water and a safer place to wait out the others to find them.

 

The foliage of the forest was an olive and yellow green. But the water was luckily drinkable. They decided on a place to bunker down, and were scouting the surrounding area.

 

“It’s fascinating how often we stumble upon planets so unlike earth but with an atmosphere, gravitational pull and weather patterns that won't kill us.”

 

Lance laughed at that “More like a quiznaking miracle.”

 

Lance was walking ahead clearing a path with his sword. Holding the occasional particularly stubborn branch out of the was for Shiro to pass. And Shiro wanted to hug him every time he did that, but settled for a “Thanks.”

 

“With how long it took to find a potential Earth 2.0 in any particular goldilocks zone, you’d think this would be rarer.”

 

“Hmm, but then again we have a whole universe to jump around in, back home- WHAT the quiznak is _that_?” Lance exclaimed, pointing at a body of liquid.

 

Were it water, Shiro might of have called it a pond. Were it night, he might say it was reflecting the night sky. As it was it looked more like a volcano mouth filled with a mercury like substance that seemed to contain a local nebula or two.

 

“Do the scanners say anything?” asked Shiro, tilting his head to take a better look at the little galaxy pond. “Not reading anything yet. It’s still processing.”

 

A rustle behind them was the only warning they got before a giant ball of white fluff woofed and ran full tilt straight at them. It collided with Shiro, sending him falling towards the galaxy pond, Lance grabbed for his hand and got pulled in by sheer momentum. They had a moment to see that the ball of fluff was actually a giant long haired dog, who looked quite happy with himself. Then they had a moment to wonder how exactly this was their life before they were swallowed by the galaxy pond.

 

No ripples or waves marred the surface of the pond.

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro opened his eyes to the astral plane. He had a moment to wonder at being here again before he heard Lance fretting to his side.

 

“Lance?”

 

Lance looked at him and visibly relaxed at seeing him a few feet away. “Shiro, where are we?”

 

“We seem to be in the astral plane.” Shiro answers, starting to walk to Lance.

 

“The astral plane? Like the one you were in?” Lance asked looking around, but did not notice a rip in space forming right behind him.

 

But Shiro did and he reached for him, “Lance!”

 

“What-?” and the next thing he knew he was falling back, reaching out to grab Shiro’s hand, but he fell away, and in a moment everything turned black.

 

Color came back in a flash of metal grey, his heels caught on the floor and sent him falling backwards in a world that had gravity again. He didn’t fall far though as hands caught him around his back. “Whoa, carefull.”

 

Lance knew that voice even as it sounded strange, and he looked up to see a face remarcably like Shiro’s but visibly older. He could feel his Cielito chirp in his chest in recognition, and that if anything was proof enough.

 

“Hey, you. Dropping by?”

 

Lance stared up at him at a loss. But future Shiro just patiently waited, gentle smile not wavering the whole time.

 

“Umm… hi?”

Future Shiro just chuckled and helped him up. The rip in space was right besides them and Lance flinched away from it into Shiro’s side.

 

“You’re going to have to go through it to get back to your own time, you know.”

 

“My time?” Lance asked, incredulous, looking around as if the room could give him answers, “Am I in the future or something? For real?”

 

Shiro noded, “That or some alternative dimension I’m guessing. Since I don’t seem to remember you mentioning any travels to the future.”

 

“But how?!” Lance exclaimed.

 

Shiro just raised an eyebrow at him.

 

Lance huffed and the big white fluff of a dog in the corner woofed right back at him. Lance pointed at him in accusation, “You!”. The dog just smiled wider at him and looked all the more happy for having his attention.

 

“Deneba...” Shiro gave a long suffering sigh, the dog barked at her name and ran over to jump at Shiro and pull at his sleeve, wanting to play.

“I’m not sure I want to know.” Shiro said looking right at Lance but reaching over to pat at Deneba’s head anyway.

 

Lance wasn’t sure whether he wanted to scream at the absurdity of what was happening or giggle at the adorable sight in front of him.

 

He turned around to hide his smile anyway and his gaze landed on the desk filling one side of the room. An office? Tablets and papers littered one corner of the tabletop and in the other corner were picture frames, some toppled over as if a wind had knocked everything askew on the table. There was a picture of their whole group in front of a blue sky. Another was of Keith with a little girl in his arms, both grinning at the camera. And another was…

 

Shiro reacher over and righted the picture. “That would be our wedding. I should probably exchange some of them out for newer ones. I seem to be running out of space.” he joked as he waved his hands at the other pictures. Half of which contained Lance, or future Lance in one form or another.

 

Lance felt his eyes sting, it was all here, and yet so far out of reach. His heart thumped in his chest, and he could feel his Cielito chirping in agreement, in longing. Where could he even start to get from where he is to here? He turned back to Shiro, intending to ask just that and jerked back at seeing his face squinting right back at him. More specifically, his future face.

 

“You know, for the longest time I was so focused on some faroff end fantasy, some grand future destiny. That often I forgot the present.” Lance just blinked at his future self, overwhelmed. The older him just nodded as if that was exactly the response he was looking for, than leaned back and crossed his arms. “Try not to do that so often.”, Shiro snorted then, head shaking but smiling, “What? Too forward?”

 

Lance continued blinking at them, from one to the other, and couldn't help noticing how they just kept smiling at one another, how their souls kept reaching out and mingling, how he could not feel where one soul ended and another begun.

 

Shiro took pity on him and pulled him gently forward in a warm, strong embrace. And Lance just melted against him, shaking and shaking.

 

Shiro let him shake and shiver for a long time. Than at length he added, “Try not to worry so much. You’re doing alright.”

 

Lance could hear his future self scoff at that, “Yet it has never been enough.”

 

“It’s always been enough. You always gave your best, and that’s always been enough for me.”

 

They lapsed into silence, Lance could feel his future self stepping close to Shiro but he didn’t look up.

 

“The rip seems to be fading. You should get going.”

 

Lance noded. He untangled himself from Shiro but would not look at either in embarrassment, but Shiro took his face in his palms and placed a kiss at his temple, and Lance’s eyes widened at the familiar gestire.

 

“This is still weird.” Lance commented, trying for levity.

 

The other two huffed a laugh. “Tell me about it.” his future self replied.

 

He jumped through the rip, and ended up arm outstretched falling backward, a hand he knew well closing in around his and pulling him forward. And just like that he was back exactly at the time and place he was before falling through the rip.

 

… Right.

 

Shiro, his Shiro, was fretting and asking him whether he was alright. But Lance could just think of how Shiro still looked like starlight and galaxies, just standing there within reach, against the void of the astral plane.

 

Be more in the present; was that what his future self recommended, right?

 

His Cielito chirped at him from his chest in encouragement.

 

… might as well.

 

“You’re beautiful here.” Lance blurted out.

 

It took a moment for the words to sink in, but than they both blushed.

 

“... what?”

 

But seeing Shiro blush just spurred him on, though he wasn’t sure he knew where to. “Not that you aren’t beautiful usually! Because you are. But this is the second time I’ve seen you in the astral plane and you always look like starlight! And I always knew you would, but-”

 

“You mean this plain grey?” Shiro asked, bewildered, raising his hand as if to make sure Lance was talking about the same him.

 

“Plain grey?! You’ve never been plain _anything._ ” and here Shiro just blushed harder taking a step back as Lance advanced on him, taking the older Paladin by the front of his armor, until they were face to face, “I love this color on you. Silver looks fantastic on you.”

 

“Umm, thanks?”

 

The hot blush on his face finally caught up with Lance and he hid his face in Shiro’s collarbone. “It all made so much more sense in the future.” he whined.

 

“... Ee?”

 

“Don’t ask.”

 

“...O-kay.”

 

“I just...” Lance started, finally looking up at Shiro, “I love you. I have pretty much since the beginning. And I just… you should know that.”  

 

Shiro’s jaw clenched and unclenched a few times, as if trying and failing to say something. He raised his hands to put on Lance’s shoulders. To return or reject the sentiment, Lance did not know but he noticed how the movement would jerk and double and merge back. One hand starlight silver, one vibrant violet. How Shiro would blink and for a moment the gaze would be more like a bright nebula than starlight.

 

“You, he… the clone… he did not die?” Lance asked with trepidation, hoping against hope that please please please he could at least right this one wrong, if no other.

 

Shiro froze, then stepped away looking tired and wry all of a sudden. “No.”

 

“But you said he was gone? And evil? Why?”

 

Shiro swallowed, his gaze darting away but resolutely returning back to Lance, but the answer was thick and almost whispered “What else could I do? Given the circumstances.”

 

And Lance was confused for a moment, “I don’t… circumstances?” but then it clicked. “You think that any of what happened is your fault?!”

 

“I...”

 

“Not you you, clone you. And we need a name for you while we’re at it! Which part of the whole thing could possibly be your fault?” Lance stopped here, choking on his next words, “I thought we killed you...”

 

“Lance...”

 

“I thought I killed you.”

 

“Lance!”

 

“You reached out to me in the astral plane and I did nothing. You reached out to me in that hallway, and I did _nothing_!”

 

Lance felt more than saw strong arms embracing him, both of them slowly lowering to the ground of the astral plane.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Not your fault. None of it. You did what you could. None of us knew what was coming.”

 

“I’m so sorry. You deserve so much better than useless me.” Shiro tightened his hold around Lance at that, rising his chin to look at his straight in the eyes, both of them crying by now, “Don’t you say that. After everything that’s happened, you’re the only thing keeping me going half the time.”

 

He doesn’t know how long they sat there, wrapped around each other, but it felt like a long long time.

 

* * *

 

Lance woke up to sunlight shining in his eyes, lying on the ground, arms and legs entangled with Shiro. He looked around, moving minimally as if to not dislodge an inch of their cocoon.

 

They were on the ground right by the galaxy pond.

 

His Cielito chirped at him and he looked at the little bird, smiling. But there was another form there. Gliding above the ground like swimming in the air. A long but small body, small fins and scales of interchanging dark and light blue color.

 

“That’s Umi.” Shiro said.

 

Lance looked down at him, the other Paladin just smiled at him serenely. “Umi’s always been quite shy. I think this is the first time she’s shown herself to anyone besides me. Fitting, I guess, since she’s your soulshard.”

 

Lance looked back to the new sprite, which was now lazily gliding up Shiro’s arm in circles. Than back to Shiro. “I though sprites didn’t have a gender.”

 

“They don’t as far as I know. We just like using that name and ‘she’” Umi gave a little happy wave of her fins in agreement.

 

“And Lance? Just to be clear. I love you too.”

 

Lance blushed bright red, which just made Shiro smile wider. “I have for a while now. It just never seemed like a good time to bring it up.”

 

They stayed like that for a moment longer, then Lance pounced on his laughing soulmate, rolled them over until Shiro was on his back and lance on his chest; Lance took that smiling face in his hands and leaned down for a kiss.

 

* * *

 

 

Their helmets came to life a few hours later.

 

“... hello …. Shir…. Lan… can you hear me?”

 


End file.
